On NFL.com, Jason La Canfora (the genius who said that Casey Hampton was on the cut-down day bubble) said on his blog that he has been charged with coming up with a list of the 20 greatest Steelers of all time. I tried submitting my list to him, but trying to add my comment wasn't working, so I will post it here instead (your loss, NFL.com). While we are waiting to see who Jason comes up with, who would make your list?

http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/09/05/calliing-out-to-steeler-nation/

The RuthlessBurgher Twenty:

The list has to start with the Hall of Famers who have spent the majority of their careers with the Steelers (listed alphabetically)

If we want to extend the list beyond just players, you have to also consider the following ten men:

1. Art Rooney (the founder, the Chief)
2. Dan Rooney (long-time owner, current ambassador to Ireland)
3. Art Rooney Jr. (not the current team President Art II...Dan's brother Art, who was the scouting director for all of the great drafts of the 70's)
4. Chuck Noll (the Emporer, who has 4 Super Bowl Titles)
5. Bill Cowher (Record for most consecutive playoff appearance to start a head coaching career, added the one for the thumb later in his coaching career)
6. Mike Tomlin (youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl)
7. Dick LeBeau (inventor of the zone blitz, known as Coach Dad to his players, soon to be a Hall of Famer)
8. Kevin Colbert (excellent talent evaluator, does not get nearly the credit he deserves for building a consistent winner)
9. Bill Nunn (long-time scout who broke new ground in the NFL by searching some of the traditionally black colleges in the south to unearth gems like John Stallworth, Mel Blount, Donnie Shell, etc.)
10. Bud Carson (defensive coordinator of the Steeler Curtain defense of the 1970's. I almost felt like disqualifying him because of his later connection to the Cleveland Browns, but his defenses of 1970's were so much better than the defenses in the 1980's under Tony Dungy, so I could not in good conscience remove Carson for Dungy)

C'mon RB..."Bullet" Bill Dudley played all of three seasons for this franchise while John Henry Johnson doubled him at 6. They shouldn't even make your grandfather's list. I'd move those two guys off to make room for linebackers Andy Russell and Greg Lloyd.

RuthlessBurgher

09-06-2009, 12:15 PM

The list has to start with the Hall of Famers who have spent the majority of their careers with the Steelers (listed alphabetically)

C'mon RB..."Bullet" Bill Dudley played all of three seasons for this franchise while John Henry Johnson doubled him at 6. They shouldn't even make your grandfather's list. I'd move those two guys off to make room for linebackers Andy Russell and Greg Lloyd.

If it was a personal favorite list, I probably would have topped it with Lloyd, since he was my top guy during my formative Steeler years. But I was trying to be objective and respect my elders. Hall of Fame induction is an indicator of greatness, and it is difficult to compare the accomplishments of guys that played more than 50 years ago to guys playing today. For example, Dudley's Pittsburgh career was interrupted by service in WWII.

Flasteel

09-06-2009, 12:32 PM

The list has to start with the Hall of Famers who have spent the majority of their careers with the Steelers (listed alphabetically)

C'mon RB..."Bullet" Bill Dudley played all of three seasons for this franchise while John Henry Johnson doubled him at 6. They shouldn't even make your grandfather's list. I'd move those two guys off to make room for linebackers Andy Russell and Greg Lloyd.

If it was a personal favorite list, I probably would have topped it with Lloyd, since he was my top guy during my formative Steeler years. But I was trying to be objective and respect my elders. Hall of Fame induction is an indicator of greatness, and it is difficult to compare the accomplishments of guys that played more than 50 years ago to guys playing today. For example, Dudley's Pittsburgh career was interrupted by service in WWII.

Yeah, but both of those guys built that HoF career with service to other teams. JHJ did spend most of his career in the 'Burgh but it was the latter half of his career. We could throw Bobby Layne on that list or why not Johnny U. since we drafted him. :wink:

1. Joe Greene - This goes without saying, he was the man that turned things around!
2. Mel Blount - Changed the way the game is played.
3. Hines Ward - Changed the way people look at the WR position.
4. Jack Lambert - Just down right scary!!
5. Jack Ham - May be the most complete LB of all time.
6. Ben Roethlisberger - The best QB in franchise history and is still building a resume.
7. Rod Woodson - Was a complete difference maker for many years.
8. Dermontti Dawson - One of the top 5 centers of all time!
9. Franco Harris - Made the difference on offense for the Steel Curtain dynasty.
10. Terry Bradshaw - 4 Super Bowl victories and 2 Super Bowl MVP's, gotta be top 10.
11. Jerome Bettis - was the bell cow for Cowher's bunch for a decade.
12. John Stallworth - made all the plays and got no press. Big Game Player!
13. Mike Webster - The man in the middle for a real long time!! Webby was the man.
14. Lynn Swann - Didn't play long but when he did he was a show stopper.
15. Donnie Shell - Doesn't get the respect that he should, This guy was a major presence.
16. Ernie Stautner - Only retired #, gotta be on the list.
17. Greg Lloyd - At times just completely scared and intimidated his opponents.
18. Troy Polamalu - Will very likely move up this list the longer his career lasts.
19. Dwight White - Mad Dog's performance in Super Bowl IX put him on the list for me.
20. James Harrison - His performance the last two years are things of legends.

I may be biased, but the guy was such the epitome of Steeler football, I can't imagine how you could exclude him. If he were born 15 years earlier, he'd have:
-4 rings
-played next to Lambert, and behind the Steel Curtain
-would be in the Hall of Fame today